Sunday was spent with Tori, who'd been given the day off. They went out shopping with her tip money – The Garden was proving to be lucrative. Membership there was not cheap, which meant neither were the clientele. Tori made excellent tips, on top of the very impressive wages Liam gave her.
After buying some sexy dresses for Katya, and even sexier outfits for Tori's new job, the girls went into a dive bar on a whim and proceeded to get hammered. Completely wasted. Tori was celebrating finally having a job she actually liked. Katya was burying her self-pity under a fifth of tequila. They made a bunch of new friends and were the belles of the bar, till a very nice and polite bouncer kindly asked them to leave.
On the car ride home, Katya called Liam. Tried to tell him how much she appreciated him, all while Tori blew raspberries into the phone. He sounded concerned, but she couldn't really understand what he was saying, so she shrugged and hung up on him. Then she closed one eye to help with her aim and stabbed her finger at a different contact.
He didn't answer. Of course he didn't answer. Why would he? Not like she mattered. Not like she was anything important. Not like they hadn't just shared the most intimate moment she'd ever had with anyone ever, so OF COURSE HE DIDN'T FUCKING ANSWER. After she yelled the last part, Tori took her phone away. Clearly, one of them was slightly drunker than the other.
When they pulled up to their building, Liam was stepping out of a taxi at the same time. Tori had one arm slung around Katya's waist, trying to hold her upright, but she was laughing more than she was helping. Liam simply strode over and scooped Katya up, cradling her in his arms as he carried her through the building.
“You're very strong,” she mumbled, completely limp in his arms, her head hanging upside down. Tori was holding onto her ponytail, as if that helped somehow.
“Not that strong. It's like carrying a dead body. Did you gain weight down in Carmel?”
Both girls burst out laughing, and even through her drunk haze she was able to hear him chuckle. He was fine, she was sure. He was so tall, so strong. Easily as strong as Wulf, and Wulf would never drop her.
Except he did. Like a bad habit, angel cake.
The tears started after they got into the apartment, thank god. Tori fell face first onto the couch and Liam carted Katya into her bedroom. While she hiccuped and sobbed, he peeled her jacket off her. Took off her shoes and socks and skinny jeans. While she laid there, desperately trying to catch her breath, he crawled into bed next to her.
“What's wrong?” he whispered, smoothing his hand down the side of her face. “Do you need to be sick?”
“No,” she wailed.
“Tell me. This is killing me. Let me help you.”
Katya rolled onto her side and pressed her face into his chest.
“I did something awful.”
“What?”
“Awful, awful, awful.”
“Jesus, Katya, did you kill someone? Run over a small child? What?” he demanded.
“I said too much,” she whispered.
“You … what?” he sounded confused.
“I … I … I think I ...”
“For the love of all that is holy, what!?”
“I think I do need to be sick.”
She was carried into the bathroom. She tried to push him out the door, but that only made the nausea worse. Besides, he wouldn't allow it. Liam was okay with every single part of her, she knew. The workaholic Katya, the stick-up-her-ass Katya, the sex kitten Katya, the crying Katya, and yes, even the drunk and puking everywhere Katya. As he held her hair away from her face and he rubbed her back and he got her glasses of water, her mind spiraled around one single thought.
You're so stupid for not loving this man.
19
“Here.”
Liam raised his eyebrows. Katya had just burst into his office. She looked very much the worse for wear. Her hair was all scraped up into a messy bun on top of her head. She had dark circles around her eyes, and her normally olive tinted skin was an ashy gray color. Her full lips were thin and pinched, and he really hoped she wasn't going to throw up in his office.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, jumping up and hurrying around the desk. “You should be in bed, I'm surprised you're even up at this hour.”
“It's three in the afternoon, Liam,” she said as he urged her into a seat.
“Yeah, but in hangover time, that's like six in the morning.”
“I wanted to say thank you, for taking care of me,” she started, then made a gagging sound in the back of her throat. She pressed a hand over her mouth and held up a paper bag.
“What is this?” he asked, gingerly taking it from her.
“Tacos. God, the smell. I think I'm actually dying.”
Liam laughed and threw the tacos behind his desk before calling upstairs. He had a large ginger ale and a really cold beer brought back for her. He'd been working in the bar industry for a long time, and it was his opinion that hair-of-the-dog was the best hangover cure. Apparently Katya felt the same way, because she immediately grabbed the beer and chugged it down.
“Better?” he asked with a laugh. She burped in response, then slapped both hands over her mouth. He laughed even harder.
She spent the afternoon in his office, talking and laughing with him. She certainly wasn't her usual perky, sassy self, but at least she didn't look like she was gonna throw up, anymore. He offered her a taco, but she waved him away, sticking with her ginger ale and some goldfish crackers he'd managed to scrounge up.
After a while, she became absorbed with something on her phone, so Liam went about his work. Most of the bar's accounting and payroll needed to get done. He would glance up at her every now and then, smiling to himself. He liked having her there, was comforted by her presence.
He frowned at his last thought and stared at her. He had to tell her how he felt. If she hadn't figured it out already – he wasn't exactly being subtle, but fuck it. When he fell, he fell hard. He'd never been afraid to love.
His only fear was that she'd never love him back.
“Katya, I ...”
*
Katya glanced up at the sound of her name, but before Liam could finish the sentence, his office phone rang. He glared down at it for a moment, then looked back up at her.
“Just a sec,” he sighed.
“Want me to wait outside?”
“No. No, not at all. It's just my partner.”
She nodded and was about to go back to the book she was reading, but when he swiveled in his chair, she got a little curious. His back was to her and he was speaking in a low voice. Normally, Katya wasn't much of a snoop, but she couldn't help but lean forward in her seat, trying to hear him better.
“No … no, don't come down here … I know … I'm aware … you think so? … oh, you know so, excuse me … fine … fine … why don't you call and check for yourself?”